Geoffrey Chaucer
1343-1400
“the father of English poetry”
life
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born in London
son of a prosperous wine merchant
likely attended school at St. Paul’s Cathedral
could read French, Latin, & Italian
married Philippa, a maid to the queen
retired in 1399 – leased house in garden of
Westminster Abbey
• first to be buried in Westminster Abbey (Poet’s
Corner)
experienced various classes of
society
• worked as a page/squire to people who knew
King Edward III
• served in the English army (Hundred Years’
War)
– captured and held prisoner
– King paid his ransom
• married a lady-in-waiting to the queen
• traveled widely
served w/in gov’t
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controller of customs
Justice of the peace
member of Parliament
worked on diplomatic missions
project manager for repairs to Westminster
Abbey and the Tower of London
• King Edward III’s subforester
Literary contributions
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poetry
noted for his insight into human character
master storyteller
examples:
* Troilus and Criseyde (love story)
* The Canterbury Tales (satirical narrative
about classes w/in society)
The Canterbury Tales
Background information:
 It was common for people of Medieval England to
make pilgrimages to sacred shrines
 Usually this was a personal, religious experience
 Canterbury, England was a town about 50 miles
southeast of London
 Sight of Canterbury Cathedral, where archbishop
Thomas a Becket was murdered in 1170
Thomas a Becket
• appointed to position of archbishop by King
Henry II, who was wanted to stop the church’s
authority over gov’t
• appealed King Henry’s request to the Pope in
Rome and won
• four of Henry’s knights murdered Becket in
1170 within the cathedral
• King Henry tried to condemn the crime by
taking a pilgrimage to Becket’s tomb
Chaucer’s influence
• In 1388, while in his 40s, he made a
pilgrimage, himself, and was struck by the
mixed classes of the assembled company
• wanted to show the variety of human nature
and how people exploit their own cultures,
especially religion
PLOT
FRAME STORY-includes another story or stories within the basic plot structure
• The characters in the story interact with one
another, not always cordially, and tell tales to
entertain one another to and from Canterbury
• The tales reveal their hidden motives, feelings,
and beliefs
• Chaucer died before finishing all the tales
CHARCTERS
• “nine and twenty” pilgrims
– the story reveals 30 pilgrims, the owner of the inn, and Chaucer,
himself
• all introduced in “The Prologue”
• represent 3 areas w/in society
– church (i.e. nun, friar, pardoner)
– court (i.e. knight, squire, reeve)
– common people (i.e. merchant, inn keeper)
• possess universal, stereotypical traits with individual,
unique qualities
SETTING
• Tabard Inn @ Southwark, England (a city near
London)
• spring (April)
• the journey to and from Canterbury, England
THEME
• the infinite variety in human nature
• the exploitation of religion for
personal gain
CHARACTERIZATION
• the methods by which an author creates a
personality for his/her character(s)
– narrator’s direct statement
– a character’s interactions / dialogue
– a charcter’s beliefs, thoughts, and actions
– a character’s physical appearance
– comments from another character in the story
Let’s
Read!